


That Island Feeling

by Allison_Wonderland



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: F/M, Gen, I promise, Plane Crash, but don’t worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-27 21:41:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15033902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allison_Wonderland/pseuds/Allison_Wonderland
Summary: When Phryne doesn’t come home, a search and rescue mission ensues.





	That Island Feeling

**Author's Note:**

> A little gift for all of us who find love and acceptance on what we call “Miss Fisher Island”. I am proud to call you friends and can’t wait to meet many of you this week. Happy Con!
> 
> Thank you aurora_australis for beta-ing!

By the third week without a telegram, Jack began to worry. Phryne had assured him in the letter she had posted from London that she would be in contact on her way home, and indeed, a telegram from every stop found its way on to his desk. Until now. The last message was from Surabaya, that she was on the final stretch, that it would take about a week to reach Darwin, and she would contact him again then. But that had been so long ago and while Jack did his best not to, he had started to worry.

And now it seemed like his worry had not been misplaced. A question to Darwin had come back that morning affirmative. Miss Fisher had radioed ahead several days ago from Kupang expecting to land and never did. And there had been quite a fierce storm just out to sea. His heart sunk. Damn it, Phryne! A crashed aeroplane was NOT in the plans. They had been dancing towards something for so long and now, now every dream could be dashed. And it was worse not knowing - she could be (he swallowed hard) dead, or at the very least injured if the plane had gone down. 

He took a few moments to mentally calm himself and form a plan. While he knew that Phryne could most definitely take care of herself, if the worst had happened she would need his help. And because of the vast ocean he would need help. So he took a breath, steeled himself, and called the only other person he knew with a plane. Jack just hoped Compton didn’t make it too difficult for him.

~*~

It turned out that his fears, at least those of Compton being unhelpful, were unfounded. When he phoned, Lyle (yes, he was now on a first name basis with the man) was fairly pleasant and when Jack told him that Phryne was missing, they were airborne and headed to Darwin less than three hours later, two other planes and a group of men in tow. It was being billed as search and rescue training to the men, and to keep the RAAF satisfied, but Jack didn’t care. The massive pit in his stomach has eased just slightly knowing that a small fleet was looking for Phryne. They landed just before dark in Darwin and were up before dawn planning their routes, each plane taking a different direction to cover as many of the tiny islands that littered the ocean as possible. The newest large plane headed west towards Surabaya in order to trace her known path while the others loaded extra fuel but were staying closer to land. Regardless of the outcome, all but the largest plane would meet back by sundown. Jack prayed it would be enough time.

He and Compton were in a borrowed boat plane from the Darwin airfield, an Iris decommissioned from the RAF that could land on water. They set off across the Timor Sea, flying low across any of the patches of land that Phryne could have been thrown to if she had been surprised by the storm off the coast. They flew a circuitous route to cover as much area as possible but saw nothing for hours until a tiny speck of white caught Jack’s eye. He tapped Compton on the shoulder and pointed it out; they drifted lower. It was indeed a scrap of metal and Jack felt his heart sink and struggled to blink back tears. There was some of the proof he was looking for, she had indeed crashed.

They took the plane off course, heading toward the direction where the metal would have come from. As they went, they spotted other bits of metal and wood, nothing terribly large but damning enough as it was. They had followed the trail for quite a bit when Jack felt the plane start to turn.  
“What are you doing?!” Jack shouted over the drone of the engine.

“It’s no use!” Compton shouted back. “We’re too far out as it is, if we go much farther, we may not make it back either!”

“Please!” 

Compton shook his head sadly.

“I’m sorry, Jack, I really am. She’s wonderful but I can’t risk it.” Then he paused, looking at the horizon over Jack’s shoulder. “Hang on!”

“Wha..?”

As Compton pulled the plane back around, Jack saw in the distance what had changed his mind so fast. A small island, with dense foliage, barely discernible from the dark ocean around it. They swooped low, and as they came around the island saw the wreckage of a plane strewn across the beach. Neither man could stop the involuntary intake of air at the sight but both tried to hide it from the other. Compton was able to land fairly close to the beach and they disembarked without getting too soaked. Jack started sprinting towards the wreckage but Lyle grabbed his arm.

“You should prepare yourself in case...” He trailed off and Jack could see the pain in his eyes that he was trying to hide. Jack nodded. He knew that finding the crash was only the smallest pain. The very large chance of seeing Phryne’s body inside would be infinitely harder. He bit back old memories and resumed his trek across the beach, reminding himself that it was better than not knowing.

They came abreast of the plane and both men let out a breath of air neither realized they were holding. The cockpit was empty. Not only empty but had clearly survived the worst of the impact. The cargo hold was also intact and had obviously been rifled through. She had at least been conscious and able-bodied enough to move. A quick search yielded no other information; the storm would have erased any footprints from the sand and so they started to look for gaps in the trees where she could have slipped into the interior. Jack spotted it first, the broken branches making a path.

“Over here!” he shouted over to Compton. They both examined the trail leading into the brush then Compton went back to the plane and grabbed a machete to better clear the trail. Within an instant, entering the jungle threw them into a different world. The island wasn’t big but more than made up for its lack of size with a plethora of greenery. That and the wildlife gave Jack a bit more hope, there was obviously fresh water somewhere to be found and even the smallest bit could make a difference in well-being.

They followed Phryne’s trail, it was much too narrow for the two of them so they went through the vegetation slowly, cutting their way through, keeping an eye out for anything unfriendly. Quite all of sudden they found themselves in a little clearing with Phryne at the center, neatly roasting a fish on a stick over an open fire. They all just looked at each other for a moment, then Jack strode over, grabbed her off her log perch, and kissed her with every ounce of feeling he possessed. She was alive and damned if he was going to let one more second pass them by.

After a few moments, they were interrupted by an abrupt throat clear. It was slightly awkward breaking apart and facing Compton who was resolutely staring at a tree. Jack took a closer look at Phryne, cataloging injuries. She was sunburned, her normally porcelain features quite rosy, and had quite a few cuts and scrapes but nothing that looked too severe. Indeed, most were beginning to scab over and other than that, she looked no different than the last he saw her. He shook his head. Even a plane crash didn’t dare to muss her perfection.

“How are you? Are you all right? What happened?” Jack knew that Phryne didn’t usually appreciate concern but he did hope that she would humor him given the circumstances. She gently laid a hand on his cheek.

“I’m fine Jack, I swear it.” They stood just a moment, basking in each other’s presence before Phryne turned to Compton, still staring at his tree. “And Lyle! Thank you so much! I had flown over a French shipping vessel before the storm, I had hoped it would pass by here before too long but this is much better.” Compton turned and bowed over her hand.

“I would expect nothing less from you than staging your own rescue but I’m happy to lend assistance. And I believe that if we leave now, we should have enough light to make it back to land today.”

“How lovely!”

“Then I shall go ready the plane.” Lyle exchanged a look with Jack, nodded, and headed back towards the beach. The instant he was out of sight, Phryne insinuated herself back into his arms and rested her head on his chest. They simply held each other, reveling in the sounds of their hearts beating in tandem. Despite the bravado they put on, both had feared they would never see each other again. After a few moments, they separated and wordlessly gathered the little bits of detritus and put out the fire. Seconds later, it looked like no one was ever there.

Jack led the way back through the trees, carefully pulling back branches and sweeping away anything that would have hurt her bare feet. When they reached the beach proper, Phryne went to search what remained of her plane but Compton had already taken what could be salvaged. All that was left was for Phryne to gaze back at the island that had almost become her final resting place. 

“A penny?” Jack stood waiting on the beach by the plane, Compton already at the helm.  
“Nothing really,” Phryne shook off the doldrums. All’s well that ends well after all. “I was just saying good-bye to Miss Fisher Island. I do think it would be nice to have my own private island. With a few more amenities of course!”

“Miss Fisher Island?” He grinned down at her.

“Of course! Phryne Island doesn’t have the same ring.”

“Of course.” 

“It would be a marvelous place Jack! Just think of it, like-minded people gathered together all in the name of me!” 

He laughed at that.

“One Miss Fisher is quite enough for me.” Jack took her hand and kissed it. “And quite irreplaceable.” He handed her up into the plane and they took their places as Compton began to taxi over the water and up into the air. Phryne tucked herself into Jack’s side, ready enough to give up being brave for the moment. Miss Fisher Island did sound wonderful but right now, she was just happy to be going home.


End file.
